There are numerous occasions where one may wish to at least partly metallise a surface of an article primarily for aesthetic reasons. For example, one may wish a selected surface of an article moulded from a plastic material to have a mirror or satin-chrome finish, in order to give an impression of solidity and high quality. Processes for achieving such goal may be of use in a wide range of industries, and on various types of surfaces in addition to plastics, and could serve for automotive coatings, architectural goals and the metallisation of objects such as appliances, furniture, kitchenware, decorative items etc.
Hitherto, such metallisation has been achieved by electroless plating or in some cases by hot or foil blocking.